Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Jaroslav Pelikan

Quote by Jaroslav Pelikan

“Unlike most readers in Antiquity who read their books aloud, we have developed the convention of reading silently. This lets us read more widely but often less well, especially when what we are reading-such as the plays of Shakespeare and Holy Scripture-is a body of oral material that has been, almost but not quite accidentally, captured in a book like a fly in amber.”

Quote by Jaroslav Pelikan

Work

Whose Bible Is It?: A Short History of the Scriptures

Whose Bible Is It?: A Short History of the Scriptures delves into the complex history of the Bible, tracing its evolution from ancient manuscripts to modern translations. The book offers insights into the various versions of the Bible, the influence of different cultures and languages, and the ongoing debate over its interpretation. more

Author

Jaroslav Pelikan
Jaroslav Pelikan

Jaroslav Pelikan was a renowned American historian and theologian, known for his research on the history of Christianity. His works covered the development of Christianity from ancient times to the modern era, with a particular focus on the Reformation and Christian theology. more

You May Also Like

“There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects both our own moral development as a civilization and our recognition that the differences between humans and animals are, for the most part, differences of degree and not of kind.”

“We proclaim human intelligence to be morally valuable per se because we are human. If we were birds, we would proclaim the ability to fly as morally valuable per se. If we were fish, we would proclaim the ability to live underwater as morally valuable per se. But apart from our obviously self-interested proclamations, there is nothing morally valuable per se about human intelligence.”